A qualified workforce

With a solid educational system and professional training that is virtually unique the world over, the canton of Vaud has a qualified, motivated and multilingual workforce.

It is good to work with Swiss people. The country provides the best international managers on the planet, while their motivation at the workplace is second only to the Danes, according to the World Competitiveness Yearbook published by the IMD.

88% of young people carry on their education after their obligatory schooling has finished, putting Switzerland at the head of all OECD countries. Swiss productivity is also among the highest in the world, with employees stating furthermore that they are very attached to their companies.

Set-Up Guide

« 88% of young people carry on their education after their obligatory schooling has finished. »

Another advantage for businesses is that Switzerland has the educational system which best corresponds to the needs of the economy. The apprenticeship model – which is virtually unique around the world – goes some way to explaining this success. At the end of the compulsory part of their schooling, two out of three young Swiss people become apprentices. Their training period lasts from two to four years and includes a practical section in a business as well as a theory aspect in a vocational school. After this training, they receive a federal attestation of professional training or a federal certificate of aptitude. If they so desire, they can then take a diploma of professional maturity corresponding to their sector, which gives them access to specialized institutes of higher education. These schools provide more practical training to bachelor’s or master’s level, and invest in research and development in collaboration with the écoles polytechniques fédérales and the universities.

« 4.5% is the level of youth unemployment »

This education system combining theory and practice means that the Swiss economy has well-educated professionals who are ready for the job market. The level of youth unemployment (4.5%) is considerably lower than the European average of 17.2%. It should be noted that the workforce in Switzerland also stands out for its language abilities. During the compulsory part of their education, pupils learn a second national language as well as English.

Vaud is of course very much part of this framework. Over 200 trades are listed as being carried out in the canton. At the end of their compulsory education, young people can choose sectors as diverse as construction, medicine and health, mechanics, IT, electrical and electronics, law, biology, commerce, or hospitality and catering. They can then move on to higher institutes of education such as the University of Lausanne (UNIL), the Ecole polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), the School of Management and Engineering Vaud (HEIG-VD), the Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne (EHL), or the Lausanne Cantonal Art School (ECAL), providing them with skills that will take them far beyond cantonal borders.

The concentration and the unique density of these academic and research institutions, as well as the cross-disciplinary way that they interact, provide an unparalleled pool of talent.